Civil War Continues to Wreak Havoc in Ravaged South Sudan

That’s how long
it has been since Edward Dima last saw his hometown of Kajo-Keji, South Sudan.

At 10 a.m.
local time on Jan. 31, 2017, Dima left for Uganda, where he and his family have
been living as refugees from the ongoing civil war in his home country.

Though he
recently visited Juba (the nation’s capital) and Maban Country (a northern
region bordering Sudan) – by plane, he noted, because it is unsafe to travel by
car – he has not been able to return to his hometown since departing.

Dima serves as
pastor of First Baptist Church in Kajo-Keji and as president of the Baptist
Convention of South Sudan.

After speaking on camera with EthicsDaily.com staff about the
situation in South Sudan during the Baptist World Alliance’s 2015 World Congress
gathering in Durban, South Africa, Dima has stayed in touch with
EthicsDaily.com via email and provided regular
updates and insights regarding
the situation in the east central African nation.

“All the [First
Baptist] church members were dislodged from their home and others were killed
because of hunger,” he told EthicsDaily.com via email on Aug. 30. “Others
attempted to go back but ended up being killed.”

Most of the congregation’s
members are now living in refugee camps in Uganda, a nation that is hosting nearly 800,000 South Sudanese refugees and
experiencing strained resources and relationships, according to a late August Voice
of America report.

“Those who
stayed in South Sudan died of hunger, diseases,” Dima said, and they “lack
education for their children and no basic supplies as well.”

The death toll resulting from the conflict is nearing
400,000 persons, according to the latest estimates.

Even those who
fled to neighboring countries, like Uganda, struggle to find adequate
provisions, particularly when it comes to education.

“Many children
are not getting enough education,” Dima told EthicsDaily.com. “Many schools do
not have support for teachers, lack stationaries, lack scholastic materials.”

“We tried as
Baptists to start schools,” he lamented, “but [there was] no support.” Dima reported previously on the limited resources available for
educational initiatives among refugee children.

Baptists and
other faith groups “are trying to help the suffering people with food and
non-food items, but [it] is hard because people were traumatized and many end
up committing suicide,” he told EthicsDaily.com.

Dima regularly
travels to the refugee camps in northern Uganda from Kampala, Uganda’s capital
city, where he is currently living with his family.

Last week, he
led a trip consisting of a Baptist medical group from Germany and a medical
missions team from Dawson Memorial Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, to minister to
refugees in the camps.

Ben Hale,
Dawson Memorial’s evangelism and missions pastor, told EthicsDaily.com via
email that the congregation has been involved in mission work in what is now
South Sudan since 2002, helping establish two schools and a farm, among other
initiatives.

Hale shared an article written by Debbie Moss, Dawson Memorial’s
minister of health and wellness, which explained that the congregation began sending
medical mission teams annually to Kajo-Keji in 2009 and had formed a strong
relationship with Dima and others in the community.

Moss received
word in January 2017 that someone was trying to contact her from a refugee camp
in Uganda. It was Edward Dima.

He was requesting
help from Dawson Memorial, specifically for food, as international aid
shipments were not reaching the camps at the time.

The
congregation purchased more than 13,000 pounds of food and helped distribute it
the week before Easter 2017 and then provided funding for refugees to buy land,
seeds and tools to begin growing their own food.

Annual medical
mission trips to the Ugandan refugee camps began in September 2017, with more
than 700 patients being seen.

The latest trip
took place last week, seeing more than 900 patients, and the next trip is
already in the works for September 2019.

South Sudan is
the world’s youngest nation, having officially secured independence from Sudan
in 2011, after a six-year period of autonomy starting in 2005.

Tensions and
intermittent conflicts soon arose, with the present conflict emerging in 2013
from a struggle for power between the nation’s president, Salva Kiir, and the
vice president, Riek Machar.

Military forces
chose sides, with The Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA), also known as
SPLA-IG (in government), loyal to Kiir, and the SPLM In Opposition (SPLM-IO),
supporting Machar.

A U.N.
fact-finding mission expressed concerns
in late August about limited progress in implementing the peace agreement.

Dima described the
implementation as “too slow and dragging,” expressing concern that, despite his
prayers for peace, “if nothing is … done, they might fight again.”

“I am
requesting my readers to pray and support us,” Dima said. “Pray for peace, pray
for the gospel to penetrate the hearts of South Sudan leaders and the whole
nation. We are praying for them to come over to encourage us who are broken-hearted.”